A Game of Tiles
by Elenhin
Summary: Hercules, Iolaus, Xena and Gabrielle are cooped up in an old hut during a rainstorm. To pass the time and to keep Iolaus from climbing on the walls Xena suggests a game. Dedicated to everyone who's wasted time on the same game… ;)


**Author's Note:**This is a one shot with Hercules, Iolaus, Xena and Gabrielle. What one can do when one is bored, and haven't we all wasted time doing this? ;)

**Warning**: _The warning is placed here for vinsmouse, who wanted a spew warning here, claiming it might be a bad idea to drink while reading the funnier parts. So please keep in mind that drinking any kind of beverage while reading this, might be hazzard'ous to the health of your screen._

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Hercules the Legendary Journey, I make no money and boy does that make it hard to keep the computer with power… No permanent harm will ever come to Iolaus but a bit of Alcmene's attention and a big bowl of chicken soup might not be amiss at the end of some stories…

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A Game of Tiles

Getting up Iolaus went to the door and opened it to look outside in the wet darkness. Behind him Hercules sighed while Gabrielle shook her head with amused if strained patience and Xena found her hand straying to her chakram. There were certain things that got on your nerves quickly, and at the moment Iolaus was worse than Joxer.

They had been on their way to a town said to be under the threat of a warlord and had decided to join forces. The season however was the right one for rainstorms, and this one was something extra. For nearly four days it had been raining heavily and there was no sign of it stopping, yet Iolaus would constantly get up to open the door and check.

Every time he did so, the temperature in the room dropped, and their meager supply of wood only allowed them to keep it at slightly above freezing. Rain poured in and soaked the floor and the hunter alike until he stepped back and closed the door with a disgusted look.

"You can hear the rain trying to pound through the roof," Hercules sighed. "Not to mention that it's pouring in through the holes in the roof, would you please stop doing that?"

Not answering Iolaus went back over to them, wiping water from his face as he sat down with a sour look.

Waiting like it was hard for them all, but while the other three could be content in each other's company it was harder for Iolaus. He enjoyed spending the time with Xena and Gabrielle, but he just couldn't stand feeling so closed in. It was as if he was itching all over with the need to get going. Hercules was familiar with it and tried not to be overly annoyed but there had been a few times he almost wanted to hit him over the head. The small cabin didn't allow enough room for the amount of physical activity that the blond needed. He had tried all he could do, the exercises that always helped him to burn some energy off, but not enough.

Hercules hadn't expected anything else, but it was still getting annoying. "If I had some rope, I'd tie you up…" he threatened and Iolaus gave him a sour look.

"We need more wood," the hunter stated.

"Why don't you go get some?" Xena suggested. He'd get soaked, and he'd be out of their hair for a while.

"We've got enough for a while longer," Hercules shook his head, but Iolaus was already out the door. Getting wet seemed like a better option than being cooped up inside.

He returned about an hour later with an armful of damp if not wet wood, soaked to the skin and shivering. Mud was plastered to his boots and pants, and when he sat to remove the boots he held them upside down and a small stream of water poured out of them. He took them to dry them out by the fire, and pulled off his vest, but paused. He hadn't thought about the fact that his pants needed to dry out too and that Xena and Gabrielle was there.

"If you don't pull those off, you're gonna catch sick for sure," Hercules reminded him. "It's cold in here, too cold to sit in wet clothes."

"Gabrielle, I think you'd better turn around," Xena mused. At least this was more amusing than irritating. The strawberry blond bard obeyed and Hercules tossed Iolaus a blanket. Holding it around himself he pulled the pants off and hung them to dry by the fire, content to sit with the blanket wrapped around himself. The floor was cold and he tucked his bare feet up under him.

"Here Iolaus, let's see if we can take your mind off the weather," Xena decided. It wasn't nice to laugh at him, but it was hard at times. He couldn't help how he reacted to being cooped up. She fetched her saddlebag and brought out a wooden case. It was a game she had found, a game she had learned how to play in the east. Teaching Iolaus, Hercules and Gabrielle to play it would take too long, but there was something else that could be done with it. The tiles all had symbols of various kinds on them, and she stacked them up. Iolaus watched her curiously, intent on her movements.

"There are two matching of every tile Iolaus," she explained to him. "Now, I want you to take all the matching tiles, and remove them, but you can only take the ones that are free. And you can't move one to free another. These are free," she indicated how they lay. "These are not, do you understand?"

"Yeah," he nodded as he studied the tiles and removed two with a strange looking symbol on it. Hercules didn't have the slightest idea what they meant, but he assumed that didn't matter. Looking at the tiles Iolaus removed tow tiles with circles on them, then two with a blue border.

Xena was surprised that he could find them so easily, but she had made a fairly easy pattern for him. She had expected him to have a lot more difficulty with it and didn't want him to quit out of frustration. If they could keep him busy enough to forget the rain it would be a lot easier on everyone.

"There," I got them all," he declared. "It wasn't very hard you know."

"Then we'll try again," she smiled. "And this time you don't look when I put them up."

He turned around, and Xena built up a more complicated pattern before she allowed Iolaus to see it. The hunter sat down, held the blanket closed with one hand and then set about finding the matching tiles.

Hercules was amazed, he was certain that there were none who matched free. He could see several that were locked in by other tiles, but none that were free, and yet Iolaus would remove them confidently and with ease even.

"Have you done this before?" Xena asked suspiciously when he had finished.

"Yeah," he nodded. "In the east. The master sought to teach us the game, and well, one of the students used to play it like this. So we did at times."

"You might have told me," she mused. "Think we can teach them two how to play it for real?"

"Maybe," he shrugged. "I can teach Gabrielle if you teach Hercules," he suggested with a teasing smile.

"Deal," Xena grinned. That should keep them busy until the rain stopped.

_**The End**_

_No games were played during the writing of this fanfic, I didn't have time, I was writing… _

3


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